How To Manage Your Team Of Remote Software Developers

How challenging can it be to work with a remote software developer team?

It was in 2015 when the growth of remote employees in managerial and professional occupations started to increase, thanks to the Internet for making efficient communications possible. At Codev, there are around200 remote software developers who work for various computer software startups and small businesses in the U.S. for over 4 years now.

How do they do it and what makes them successful in working with diverse employees? If you’re planning to start a software developer team on your own, here are some insights that might help you.

3 Ways To Better Manage A Remote Software Developer Team:

Set Communication Tools

Plan Clear Deliverables

Establish Regular Meeting Schedules

Set Communication Tools

Working in the same building with your team members is much more easier than working with people outside your building, much more when you’re working in different time zones. Establishing common communication procedures is more than just exchanging chat messages or sending and receiving emails for updates.

Different industries require different task tracking methods but may use common communication tools. Slack, for instance has grown to be the most used business communication tool. Managing calls, conversations, and tasks are organized by this tool for better team productivity no matter what time or no matter where you and your teams are working.

You will have see which communication tool works best for you and your team members.

Plan Clear Deliverables

Delivering results matters more than attendance be it with a virtual or in person. A set deliverable allows an employee to focus on the task itself rather than putting pressure on the employee to pretend to look busy for fear of being judged for slacking off. In addition, concrete deliverables can be measured thus allowing you to improve on any unsatisfying results.

Setting deadline is key. This way you are showing your team that you trust them to deliver the project on time and in return they will perform better. The clearer the deliverables, the clearer the results.

Establish Regular Meeting Schedules

Varied time zones may seem inconvenient for members of a distributed team. On the bright side, there are companies out there that have mastered the art of making separate time zones work. Working for 24 hours is unnecessary, but a consistent schedule is.

Let’s say for instance that you work in Utah and your software developer team works in the Philippines. This means that your team is working in a time zone that is 15 hour ahead of yours. To make this work, you can set a yearly visit to meet your team in person, set an hour video chat to talk about your project’s progress, set a monthly call for reports.

One best thing to do is also an overlapping of schedule. Let’s use the Utah-Philippines working arrangement again. Your remote team can work from 6AM to 3PM their time while you work the usual 8AM to 5PM. This way, you have at least 2 hours of overlapping time with your team as your 3PM will be their 6AM schedule.

Whatever setting you wish to have with working with a distributed software developer team, it’s best to look after each other’s best interest. This way, trust will be built in your relationship as a team which leads to more productivity. If you have problems leading a remote team, let us know and we’ll be glad to accommodate your concerns.

At Codev, we place the best worldwide talents to your software developer team.